Recipe for Love (9 page)

‘Oh, stop being so sensible. Let’s find the cheese place now.’ But a memory of something in one of her mother’s cookery books written in the seventies came back to her.

After twisting and turning through a few more country lanes they arrived at their next destination. Zoe was really enjoying herself. Gideon was very easy to be with and it was a lovely early summer’s day. All was well with the world – for Zoe at least.

They parked round the back of another picturesque farmhouse, walked through the farmyard and past some cows with interesting white stripes down their backs, and rang what they hoped was the right bell. After a few minutes, while they wondered if they were at the wrong door, the door was opened by an attractive woman who smiled at them warmly.

‘Fen rang and said you were coming,’ she said. ‘Welcome! I’m Susan. Fen said I was to show you everything, not just cheese and cream but that first. Come this way.’

As Zoe followed Susan and Gideon she felt inspired. This woman would have wonderful produce, things the
others
wouldn’t have access to, and it would give her a bit of an advantage. Although she knew she was a good cook, she suspected that there were others in the competition who were better. They hadn’t really had a chance to shine yet. She’d have to have some other edge for her to win.

‘Do you want to see where we make it? Or just the shop?’

Gideon looked at his watch. ‘Well, we’ve been out for a while.’

‘We’ve been looking at baby pigs and buying bacon and pork,’ said Zoe. ‘And cider.’

Susan laughed. ‘I know where you’ve been then. If you haven’t time for the grand tour – and I haven’t time really either – come and look at the shop.’ She led the way to a small building and opened the door. ‘This was once a cowshed.’

‘Oh, I’m sleeping in a cowshed at the moment,’ said Zoe.

‘Rupert and Fen have been so imaginative, haven’t they? Now, have a look. Almost everything here has been produced either on our farm or on the one next door.’

With her main course decided and an idea for a starter, it was the pudding that Zoe needed to think about. She wanted to do something original, which meant no summer fruits.

Gideon wandered off to look at the business end of the cheese-making process, leaving Zoe to examine the stock without his inhibiting presence. Was this whole expedition together against the rules? Although to be fair to herself, there was nothing in the sheet about not finding other suppliers, accompanied by a judge. It was just that she wouldn’t be filmed.

‘Is there anything particular you need?’ asked Susan
after
Zoe had walked all the way round the shop without choosing anything.

‘The trouble is, I don’t know what I need, except ingredients for a pudding that is original, and local of course.’

‘The strawberries are lovely.’

‘I know but I think everyone will be using strawberries or raspberries.’ She picked up a jar of honey.

‘Uncle Jim’s honey is very special.’

‘I’ll have some anyway. I love honey.’

‘So do I! And it goes awfully well with cheese.’

This caught Zoe’s attention. ‘Does it?’

‘Yes! Here, let me show you.’

Susan opened a fridge and produced some cheese and then a jar of honey. She spread a little honey on the cheese. ‘Here, taste this. This is not really a single Gloucester because we’re outside the area where it can be produced, but it’s the same method.’

Zoe put the cheese and honey into her mouth. While she was chewing, Susan went on. ‘A friend I met on a cheese-making course makes it and it’s one of my favourites. We call it Single Littlechurch. We keep the Gloucester cattle because they’re a rare breed.’

Susan dived back into her fridge. ‘And here’s the one we make that’s like a Brie.’

‘What’s that like with honey?’ asked Zoe, her brain whirring.

Susan smiled. ‘Try it!’

Zoe couldn’t speak for a few seconds. ‘That is so wonderful! I need that too!’

‘Have you got an unlimited budget?’

‘Not unlimited but fairly generous.’ She chewed and thought some more. ‘Although for a pudding, I probably need something a bit acidic, fruit of some kind, but not red ones.’

‘Would it have to be fresh fruit?’

‘I don’t suppose so.’

Susan made a gesture towards her shelves. ‘Have a look at the bottled fruit then.’

‘Bullaces? What on earth are bullaces? I’ve never heard of them,’ Zoe said a few moments later.

‘A sort of wild plum. They grow in the hedgerows and we had masses last year. My mother does the bottling.’

Zoe picked up the jar and inspected the small yellow fruit that looked like golden opals. ‘I’ll definitely have some of these. Now, do you do cream?’

‘Of course I do! And I defy you to find any better in the county.’

After a little more shopping, mainly in farm shops, they arrived back at Somerby. Zoe was relieved they hadn’t bumped into anyone on the way. Not that she was doing anything illegal but she still felt she probably shouldn’t have been spending so much time with one of the judges. She was delighted with her purchases and, what’s more, although Gideon had been there, he didn’t know exactly what she planned to cook. She found she liked the idea of surprising him in particular. Fenella and Rupert had organised tea for them all and Zoe was looking forward to cream tea – one that she had nothing to do with making.

Gideon parked in front of the house and Zoe got out. As she did so Cher appeared from beside the house. That girl had a sixth sense, thought Zoe guiltily.

‘Oh, hello. We wondered where you were. You found a lift then?’

Now Gideon got out causing Cher to stare and then bridle.

‘Oh! I see!’ She giggled fetchingly. ‘Isn’t it against the rules to get pally with the judges?’

‘It’s against the rules to make it impossible for contestants to source their ingredients,’ said Gideon calmly.

‘Did I do that?’ Cher was all innocence.

‘You got in a cab all by yourself which meant there wasn’t room for Zoe,’ he explained.

‘Duh! Sorree! There seemed to be loads of cabs.’ Her fake remorse involved looking at Gideon upwards under her false eyelashes and smiling.

‘Well, never mind, I’ve got what I need now,’ said Zoe.

Just for a second she felt she’d rather do without anything to cook with than watch Cher flirt with Gideon, but then she gave herself a mental shake. That was ridiculous. Gideon seemed impervious to Cher’s wiles and anyway she, Zoe, had no claim on him.

Their carefully marked packets of food handed in for safe-keeping, ready for the challenge the next day, and a wonderful spread consumed, everyone wandered back to their accommodation. They had some free time before dinner.

As Cher had got into the shower while Zoe was giving Fenella her shopping, Zoe switched on her laptop while she was waiting, aware Cher might take a while. Zoe was looking for a recipe. She’d just about tracked down the one she wanted when Cher emerged wrapped in a towel and peered over her shoulder, her nearness causing a drip to land on the keyboard. Zoe closed down the site and switched off her laptop.

‘Being a bit precious about what you’re planning to cook, aren’t you?’ Cher said.

‘Am I? What are you planning then?’ Zoe asked.

‘Oh, not telling! Unless you tell me, of course. We wouldn’t want to be doing the same thing, after all.’

Zoe was not a natural games player but she was
beginning
to learn. ‘Oh, OK,’ she said brightly. ‘It does make sense. You go first.’

Cher’s expression hardened almost imperceptibly as she dressed. She didn’t seem to mind doing so in front of Zoe but then with a body like hers she had nothing to hide. ‘No, you.’ She was now preening herself in front of the mirror.

‘Right. Well, I thought I’d do this thing that was in a book of my mother’s. Basically it’s choux pastry that you deep fry.’

Cher made a face. ‘Dreadfully fattening!’

‘That won’t matter. We don’t have to eat them. What about you?’

‘Oh, I haven’t decided yet. I need a bit more time to think about it.’

Zoe considered protesting but the truth was she hadn’t decided on her entire menu herself. Fortunately deep-fried choux pastry was only one of her ideas.

The minibus took everyone down to the pub in the village but only some people wanted to stay late. Cher was an early leaver, catching a lift with a local she’d found in the bar and trusted enough to take her home. But although Zoe arrived back less than twenty minutes later, when she got back to their room, she found the door firmly locked.

‘This is bloody ridiculous,’ said Zoe, after banging on the door for several fruitless minutes and searching through her list of contacts on her phone in the faint hope that she had Cher’s number and could ring her to ask her to unlock the door. ‘Cher?’ she shouted. ‘It’s me, Zoe. You can’t be asleep already! Let me in!’

There was no answer. It was all so quiet Zoe wondered if she was actually in there. For a few moments she worried
whether
Cher, having accepted a lift from someone she didn’t know, had actually been kidnapped. But he’d seemed well known in the pub and had spent a lot of time talking about his wife and children.

Still, a few scenarios went through Zoe’s mind involving Cher being hideously murdered before she spotted a hairclip on the step. She was fairly sure it hadn’t been there when they left, which made her confident Cher was inside.

She shouted through the door again but got no answer and then she walked round the building, trying to find a window or something she could climb through. There was nothing, although a good peer through one of them revealed Cher’s bag. She hadn’t been murdered – yet!

She didn’t want to wake up the other contestants who were on the premises and anyway, what could they do? There was only one thing for it: they would have a spare key at the house. She walked up there, but she was very annoyed. It was well after ten and she knew Fenella was getting to bed as early as she could. Rupert might be up though.

This optimistic thought faded as she approached the back door. There was no light on anywhere downstairs. She could see one high up on the second floor, but the basement, where the kitchen was, appeared to be deserted. Although she knew it was pointless, she tried to open the back door. Of course it was locked.

‘This is so stupid!’ said Zoe and marched back to the cowshed, determined to make Cher wake up this time.

She banged on the door until her fist felt bruised. No response. She decided she would have to throw stones at the light in the Somerby window and get Rupert up. There was an incline to the front of the house and she walked up it briskly, fired by irritation that was bordering on
anxiety
. What would she do if she couldn’t get into her accommodation? She had to sleep somewhere!

As she arrived, puffing slightly, at the front door, a car drew up. Relief flooded over her. Here was someone who could help. She was even more relieved to see it was Gideon. Although he would think her mad or incompetent for not being able to get into her little house, she did at least know him.

‘What are you doing here?’ he asked. ‘Have you just prepared your food for tomorrow or do you have an assignation?’

‘Neither! My bloody room-mate has locked me out and I need to get into the house to find another key.’ She paused. ‘There must be one.’

‘I haven’t got a key to anywhere but I know where the one to the back door is. Let’s go round.’

Zoe began to feel calmer. Soon she would be able to go to bed. She’d kill Cher in the morning.

The key was on the top of a thick old door that led to a cellar and Gideon soon had the back door open. As they walked up the passage to the kitchen Zoe rubbed her head and found she was sweating.

‘God, I need a cup of tea!’ she said, sounding desperate, as they entered the kitchen. She moved the kettle on to the hot plate. It was an emergency and tea was always a good thing at such times. Despite the sweat she was also rather cold. ‘Do you want one? Then we can look for a key to my cowshed.’

‘Tea would be great.’ Gideon pulled out a chair and sat down at the long table.

They drank tea in companionable silence. Zoe felt calmer now, convinced that when they got up they would go into the passage and find a key cupboard, with all the keys neatly labelled. Everything seemed
much
better now she had someone else there to help her.

They found a key-cupboard, but sadly, under ‘Cowshed’ there was no key.

‘I can’t believe they don’t have spares,’ muttered Zoe on a sigh of desperation. ‘What am I to do?’

‘Well, first we’ll go back to the cowshed and make sure the door really is locked, not jammed or anything. Then we’ll have another go at waking Cher.’

‘I really tried!’ She rubbed her wrist, remembering how sore she’d made it hammering on the door.

‘And if that plan fails, we’ll revert to plan B.’

‘Which is?’ she said, trotting after him.

‘I’ll tell you when I’ve thought of it.’

Oddly, Zoe was relieved when Gideon couldn’t get into the cowshed either. She’d have felt incredibly stupid if the door had just sprung open, having been unlocked all this time. ‘OK, time for plan B,’ she said.